Sound Card Questions!

[Peopie]

So I currently have an ATX sized rig which I am planning to shrink into an ITX, and I was wondering how good the ALC 898 chipset and if its drivers are good

 

I currently have a Xonar DG with a Steelseries Sibera v2

I like the driver that came with the xonar, but mostly because I can hear myself when my mic is on.

 

So my main question is if I should invest in a usb soundcard after I shrink it down.

I've read the that the specs for the realtek chip that its pretty good, but I have no idea about how well their drivers are.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

[XiaoPigs]

You don't really need to switch the sound card to a USB one, The DX is pretty small for a soundcard already so it will go well with an ITX build. Plus it the DX sounds so good why would you want to change it for something worse?

[Peopie]

err, well I have the DG, which is their PCI one, and my ITX board only has one PCIe slot?

[XiaoPigs]

err, well I have the DG, which is their PCI one, and my ITX board only has one PCIe slot?

That's even smaller then the DX. Apologies for the mistake btw.

 

Are you gonna add a GPU to your build?

[Peopie]

Oh, yes I am

I probably should've mentioned that >.<

[XiaoPigs]

Oh, yes I am

I probably should've mentioned that >.<

Ah then say goodbye to the soundcard :(

 

The USB soundcard will sound better then the onboard sound but not by a lot.

[Jimbo]

I have a Xonar U3 for my laptop (STX in my desktop), In my experience it's dramatically better than onboard sound - but nothing like a real soundcard.

 

EDIT: Maybe you should look to m-ATX?

[Peopie]

Hmm, I see

 

Well it's too late for my to switch to m-ATX because I already bought a Prodigy during that NCIX sale xD

 

Is there any other way to rank sound cards besides their SNR ?

 

This page says that it has a 104/110 dB snr, while the DG has 103/105 dB

 

Though I'm not really sure what that means, I know that usually the bigger number is better

[NewKID]

you cant use an internal soundcard on an itx board. you'll have to use the onboard or use an external amp/dac

[Peopie]

you cant use an internal soundcard on an itx board. you'll have to use the onboard or use an external amp/dac

 

Err, I'm not sure what you mean by that

[NewKID]

the itx form factor only has one PCI Express x16 slot

[h264]

I'd say get a FiiO E10 except you have a headset.  The onboard will be fine, maybe better.

 

This page says that it has a 104/110 dB snr, while the DG has 103/105 dB

 

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/sansa-clip-measured.html

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/behringer-uca202-review.html

 

Here's a couple good example of how best to measure these things.

 

>$10,000

 

Maybe one day...

[Peopie]

I'd say get a FiiO E10 except you have a headset.  The onboard will be fine, maybe better.

 

 

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/sansa-clip-measured.html

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/behringer-uca202-review.html

 

Here's a couple good example of how best to measure these things.

 

>$10,000

 

Maybe one day...

 

 

Woah, those are long articles

 

I guess I'll stick to the onboard then

 

 

 

the itx form factor only has one PCI Express x16 slot

That is correct!

 

I was wondering though if i should get a usb soundcard instead though

[NewKID]

nah not necessary with the siberias